 |  |
 | |
|  |
|  |
|  |
|  |
|  |
|  |
|  |
|  |
|  |
|
| |
|
| |
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Microprocessor
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Top Stories for June 16, 2000 (details below) | |
| C/Net | Wintel won't dominate devices, exec says |
| eWEEK | Experts tackle obstacles facing information appliances |
| InfoWorld |
Intel Readies New Mobile CPUs Chip maker expected to unveil five processors for notebooks Monday. |
| tecChannel | Review: VIA Cyrix III / Samuel |
| The Register Files | |
| The Register | Cyrix III: P6 clone by name, but not by performance |
| Microprocessor
Headline News Collected By Robert R. Collins |
Week of June 11, 2000 |
Older News |
| June 16, 2000 | ||
Wintel won't dominate devices, exec saysBy Michael Kanellos June 15, 2000 |
Technology leaders Microsoft and Intel will undoubtedly make waves in the Internet appliance market, but they won't dominate the field as they do in the PC market, according to one of Asia's leading hardware executives.
Chips and operating systems from other companies will likely enjoy a greater degree of prominence in shaping the market for set-top boxes, Net-ready handhelds and other non-PC devices, said Simon Lin, CEO of Acer Information Products Group, the computer arm of the Taiwanese conglomerate. |
|
Experts tackle obstacles facing information appliancesBy Ken Popovich June 15, 2000 |
While the long-term outlook for information devices appears bright, they still face major obstacles, including the lack of product-specific support services and infrastructure, according to a panel of industry experts.
In addition, the experts noted the increasing role of Linux in the embedded processor arena and generally agreed that PCs will likely continue to have a place in the home. |
|
Intel Readies New MobileCPUs
|
Intel on Monday will introduce what a source close to the company called "the fastest mobile processors in the industry," two of which arrive with a new twist from Intel: single-watt power consumption, a benchmark formally held exclusively by Transmeta's Crusoe processor.
Intel will unveil five processors, readied for all three classes of mobile computing: full size, for laptops weighing more than six pounds; thin and light, weighing less than six pounds; and ultralight, weighing less than three pounds, the source says. |
|
Review: VIA Cyrix III / SamuelBy Von Christian Vilsbeck June 15, 2000 |
After a series of delays VIA finally launched Cyrix III, their first x86-CPU. This Celeron clone now features the Samuel core and 3DNow! at very low cost. tecChannel exclusively reviewed the brand new processor and tells you if it was worth the wait.
At the Computex trade show in Taiwan from June 5 to June 9 VIA was having a ball. Much to the surprise of everybody the company announced at the second day of the show that it would ship the Cyrix III with a new core. This announcement confirmed what was rumored before: The CPU developed under the codename "Joshua" which was delayed several times had finally been canceled due to a lack of performance. VIA stated that they would instead launch their first CPU featuring the Samuel core, originally developed by IDT. |
|
The Register Files |
||
Cyrix III: P6 clone by name, but not by performanceBy Drew Cullen June 15, 2000 |
VIA's P6 clone, the Cyrix III, underperforms Intel Celeron in a series of 2D applications and Windows 98SE benchmarks, run by
tecChannel.
In its review comparing the Cyrix III with a clutch of rival offerings from AMD and Intel, tecChannel summarise performance as "rock bottom: Only the predecessor Cyrix II is even slower. Having a big L1 cache and no L2 cache does not help here". |
|
| June 15, 2000 | ||
Intel tips new process paradigmBy Anthony Cataldo June 14, 2000 |
Intel Corp. plans to roll out different process technologies that better match the power and performance requirements of target markets outside its core PC microprocessor business. At the same time, Intel is pushing its chip design groups to work together more closely to tackle ever-worsening problems with power consumption.
In the future, Intel will probably introduce more than one process technology at a single technology node — defined by lithography line widths — as it strengthens its non-PC product portfolio, which now includes digital signal processors, the StrongARM embedded RISC core and flash memory, said Mark Bohr, Intel fellow and director of process architecture and integration at the company's Portland Technology Development Center (Hillsboro, Ore.). |
|
| June 13, 2000 | ||
Intel plans mobile megahertz blitzBy John G. Spooner June 9, 2000 |
Intel Corp. will mark June with its largest mobile chip launch to date. The chip maker later this month will introduce five new processors for notebook PCs.
Intel's aim with the launch is to increase overall performance of notebook PCs but at the same time offer new low-power options aimed at extending the battery life of small-form-factor notebooks. The launch will include three higher-clock-speed mobile Pentium III and Celeron chips as well as a low-power mobile Pentium III and Celeron. |
|
Transmeta gears up for notebooks, expands chip lineBy Michael Kanellos June 7, 2000 |
Upstart microprocessor designer Transmeta plans to showcase a number of corporate notebooks using its chips at PC Expo later this month, and will later diversify its product line to offer capabilities for different devices.
Notebooks for the corporate market featuring Transmeta chips will be part of a major display at PC Expo, said company executives at the Computex trade show in Taipei. The move will present a competitive challenge to Intel, as no processor manufacturer, including Advanced Micro Devices, has yet to seriously take on the Santa Clara Calif.-based giant in the business market. |
|
Transmeta's Crusoe processor wins support among Taiwan's mobile systems housesBy Faith Hung June 9, 2000 |
With many of Taiwan's notebook-computer manufacturers supporting its new architecture, Transmeta Corp. is poised to take on Intel Corp. in the CPU market.
"We want to make a big splash in the market, and Taiwan is going to be part of it," Transmeta's chief executive, David R. Ditzel, told EBN during an interview this in Taipei. "We see a lot of excitement in Taiwan." |
|
The Register Files |
||
Rambus exec kicked out of DDR seminarBy Mike Magee June 7, 2000 |
Senior suits at chipset manufacturer Via Technologies confirmed today they had expelled a Rambus executive from their midst.
The incident occurred at a DDR (double data rate) seminar Via held Monday last, confirmed Richard Brown, marketing director of Via worldwide. Via hosted the event. A man who Brown named as Richard Crisp, a senior executive at Rambus Inc, had not registered and was therefore requested to leave the forum, said Brown. |
|
Rambus misses Computex DragonboatBy Mike Magee June 6, 2000 |
It's a public holiday in old Taipei today for the Dragonboat Festival. But memtech company Rambus appears not just to have missed the dragon boats, but the trade show boat too.
A quick gander round the sticky halls of the Computex trade show has revealed that while Intel might be for it, and Rambus is definitely up for it, third party manufacturers are voting with their feet and adopting double data rate (DDR) and SDRAM solutions for their mobos. |
|
Willamette to have triflingly short shelf lifeBy Mike Magee June 7, 2000 |
For all the fanfare made by Intel about its up-and-coming IA-32 processor codenamed Willamette, it has emerged that another IA-32 processor will displace it within a period of four months or so.
Willamette is scheduled to appear towards the end of this year, at clock speeds rising to 1.4GHz but conversations with a number of motherboard vendors has revealed they have no plans to support it. Instead, they will wait for the next generation, codenamed Tulloch, which Intel has told them will arrive in the second quarter of next year. |
|
Tulloch, Willamette and Northwood plans firm upBy Mike Magee June 11, 2000 |
Taipei Roadmaps we have now seen confirm why third party manufacturers are showing reluctance to develop motherboards for the Willamette microprocessor.
Willamette, a 423 pin design, based on the Tehama chip, only has a limited lifespan -- from Q4 this year. But in Q2 next year, Intel will, as we have reported, introduce the Tulloch chipset for the Willamette microprocessor, as part of its build up for Northwood in the second half of next year. |
|
AMD Slot A death threatens stock crunchBy Mike Magee June 8, 2000 |
Motherboard manufacturers are performing a difficult juggling act during the rapid phase out of Slot A in favour of Socket A for the AMD Athlon and are putting pressure on the chip maker to keep on making the parts.
After the release of the Thunderbird Athlon at the beginning of this week, which coincided with the simultaneous release of a large number of third party motherboards using the KT rather than the KX133 chipset, reports circulated at the show that manufacturers felt miffed at the swift demise of Slot A. |
|
Where the hell are... DDR chipsets?By Mike Magee June 11, 2000 |
Computex 2000 Many a weary trek around the three Computex halls failed to provide even one example of a motherboard based on double data rate
(DDR) memory, despite the noise and fury of that contingent this year and last.
So where are these rare birds? Even representatives of Via, which has pushed DDR like there's no tomorrow, could only hold out tentative hopes of an Autumn launch, which sounded to us more like October than September when we pressed them the point. |
|
FICkle finger points to Transmeta feteBy Mike Magee June 7, 2000 |
Thanks to our friends at Mobile Linux for pointing us to the fact that First International Corporation (FIC) is showing a Transmeta-based device at Computex this week.
Armed with this solid piece of information, we therefore tramped to the Grand Hyatt next to the conference centre here in Taipei, and took the lift to the 25th floor where we found, or rather didn't find, Transmeta lurking in a room rather grandly called the Presidential Suite. |
|
Acer takes Transmeta puntBy Mike Magee June 10, 2000 |
Thanks once more to the editor of Mobile Linux for tipping us off about Acer's contribution to the Transmeta fest.
Tim Brown, editor of Mobile Linux, tells us that in Q3 Acer will intro a yellow WebPad using the 3120 Crusoe chip, and the Mobile Linux operating system. We anticipated that Acer would be one of the first off the mark when we broke the nature of the Transmeta offerings 18 months ago, but are a little surprised that FIC showed its hand at Computex while the much bigger Acer was more reticent. |
|
Transmeta to hit 1GHz by year-endBy Mike Magee June 11, 2000 |
Taipei Reliable sources close to Transmeta's plans say that the firm is likely to be able to introduce a chip in its Crusoe family running at 1GHz by the end of the year, and consuming only a paltry four to five watts.
That contrasts with a member of Intel's mobile Pentium III family, a 900MHz processor, which will also be available by year-end, but which pushes the power consumption boat up to 22 watts. |
|
Thunderbird re-marking starts in TaiwanBy Mike Magee June 13, 2000 |
Taipei Sources here said that re-marking of Athlon Thunderbirds has already started here in Taiwan, barely a week after AMD launched the products.
According to the same sources, widespread re-marking of T'bird product is underway, especially given that supplies of the product are at a premium right now. Only one month ago, AMD confirmed that some remarked samples of the previous rev of the Athlon were on sale in Australia. |
|
Spicy PC gossip from Old TaipeiBy Mike Magee June 7, 2000 |
Despite others' perception, quite often journalists hunt in packs and then share ideas with each other so that a jigsaw picture of what's really going on can be assembled. Chatting to a hack here who was at the AMD intro of the T'Bird in Taipei, and he said one of the speakers had made a strange comment about Via using AMD as a sort of foundry. This chimes somewhat with a comment made by a mobo manufacturer and another made by Richard Brown, marketing director of Via. The Abit guy said that AMD had positively discouraged them from using its chipset while Brown said, "we're the only game in town". So could it be conceivable that AMD will abandon its chipset biz entirely while ceding space to Via? | |
| Advertisement |